8 The QUEE NS Courier • october 22, 2015 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Queens pols make pizza bet with Illinois pols over Mets-Cubs series BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@queenscourier.com/@robbpoz You wanna pizza this, Illinois? With the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs fighting for the National League pennant, Queens state senators have placed a tasty bet with their members of the Illinois Senate over the outcome of the championship series. State Senators Joseph Addabbo, Leroy Comrie, Michael Gianaris and Jose Peralta announced the wager on Tuesday morning outside Citi Field in Flushing, where the Mets won the first two games of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the Cubs this weekend. The Mets took a commanding 3-0 lead in the bestof seven series Tuesday night with a 5-2 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. They went for the series clincher Wednesday night (after press time) with another young starting pitching prospect, Steven Matz, taking the mound for the Mets against the Cubs’ Jason Hammel. Before the NLCS started, Addabbo and his fellow Queens senators agreed to the wager with Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and his colleagues. Should the Mets win, the Illinois Senate will ship deep-dish Chicago-style pizza to the Queens senators; should the Cubs prevail, the Queens senators will send to the Illinois Senate thin-crust New York-style pizza. The losing delegation must also congratulate the winning team on the floor of its Senate chambers, and the senators must wear the winning team’s apparel during a cleanup day within their districts. With the Mets needing two more wins to defeat the Cubs and advance to the World Series, Addabbo and his colleagues expressed confidence that Queens’ home team will ultimately prevail. “There are two things I know for sure: New York has better baseball and better pizza,” Addabbo said. “I hope that Senator Cullerton looks good in blue and orange, and I wish our counterparts in Chicago the best of luck in coming up with a creative way to keep the deep-dish pizza warm while on its way to Queens.” The Mets took Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS before sellout crowds at Citi Field on Saturday and Sunday, carried by the strong pitching of starters Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard and the bat of second baseman Daniel Murphy, who hit a home run in the first inning of each game. Murphy again homered in Game 3, while starter Jacob deGrom held the Cubs to two runs over seven innings. The Mets also benefited from two costly Cubs miscues: Yoenis Cespedes scored in the sixth on a Michael Conforto strikeout that got away from catcher Miguel Montero; and David Wright scored in the seventh on a sharp line drive off Cespedes’ bat that Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber couldn’t handle. One more win will give the Mets their first National League pennant since 2000, while the Cubs are looking to break a 70-year-old pennant drought. Parents, residents still frustrated after meeting on proposed Bayside school BY ALINA SURIEL asuriel@queenscourier.com @alinangelica A meeting with Councilman Paul Vallone and education officials on Oct. 19 couldn’t quell the concerns of Bayside residents still adamantly opposed to a school proposed for the former Bayside Jewish Center. Vallone was only a few minutes into his introductory remarks when the audience interruptions began. The councilman pointed out that, as the Bayside Jewish Center and the School Construction Authority (SCA) had already entered into a contract, he thought it unlikely that plans for the school would be squashed at this point. “I’m more of a realist than someone who’s going to stand on the corner and say it’s not going to happen,” Vallone said over the grumbling of audience members. The councilman added that the situation was delicate and would likely draw criticism from residents no matter which site was chosen, and that he believed the SCA site selection process in general should be changed to increase transparency. Vallone also noted that his constituents in Community Board 11 have often commented about a dire need for school seats in the area. Residents continued to angrily interject many times throughout the meeting, but despite the unrest, SCA Chief of Staff Melanie La Rocca presented some of basic information on the proposed school. The high school will have approximately 730 seats and the Bayside Jewish Center and the SCA have a signed contract of sale contingent on a site selection process currently underway, which includes a traffic study and environmental review. The school does not yet have an official design, so no decisions have been made on the numbers of floors to be included in the building. La Rocca said that any structure will be designed to fit the aesthetics of the surrounding neighborhood of largely single-family homes. “I am committing that should this site move forward and we receive all necessary approvals, our design team will come to this project knowing full well the neighborhood they’re coming to,” La Rocca said. According to La Rocca, the meeting functioned as the beginning of a community engagement process determine what kind of program will be offered at the new school. Possibilities included using a portion of the school as an annex to Bayside High School or relocating another school into the building, such as the nearby World Journalism Preparatory School. A third option could see a specialized program installed in the location with an arts or other academic focus. Bayside resident Chadney Spencer was one of most vocal opponents to the school. Spencer, a father to two young children, said moving existing schools into the new building would not make sense toward the district’s goal of increasing seats, and that even if it was a new school he felt frustrated that the process was rushed through prematurely. “From every angle that anyone regards this deal, it does not makes sense,” Spencer said. Various lawmakers at the state and federal level have also expressed their opposition to the school. In a joint letter sent to SCA President and Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Grillo on Tuesday, Congresswoman Grace Meng and Assemblyman Edward Braunstein asked that the SCA rescind its contract with the Bayside Jewish Center due to the lack of support from the Bayside community. “The process that the School Construction Authority (SCA) uses to purchase property for siting new schools is flawed, and does not offer the residents, the community board, or elected officials any opportunity for input until after the contract negotiations have begun,” read the statement. State Senator Tony Avella previously opposed the plan, holding opposition rallies outside the center in recent months. THE COURIER/Photo by Alina Suriel Chadney Spencer speaks up at a meeting on a proposed high school set to be installed at the Bayside Jewish Center.
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